What Do I Need To Get Verified On Twitter? Your Profile Should Fit These Criteria Before You Apply

Good news for anyone who's ever felt pressured to create a super witty or incredibly epic bio to persuade others of their professional credentials or writing prowess: Twitter announced today that it's creating a simple application process for accounts to receive verified status, so you may be able to just let that blue tick do the talking from here onwards. Furthermore, what you need to get verified on Twitter is actually relatively simple — as long as your profile fits a specific set of criteria.

Accounts that are accompanied by the almighty blue badge hold a lot of weight; they enable us to identify large organizations and key influencers and in times of crisis, viral stories, or emergencies. Indeed, studies have shown that we have a tendency to listen to verified accounts more than we do to an unverified one. This is particularly important when false rumors are being spread or important information needs to be relayed around the world quickly; tweets from verified accounts can shut down false information or spread important facts with relative ease.

Previously, an account could be verified if it was thought to be of public interest — and this aspect of the process hasn't changed. A press release notes that accounts "maintained by users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas" will be considered for verification, just like before. Only this time, however, the process of obtaining the sought-after blue tick has changed; where it was once elusive, with Twitter bestowing the ticks onto those they deemed worthy for reasons shrouded in mystery, users are now able to submit their own profiles for consideration — simply put, you can apply for verification status now, instead of just waiting for it to appear.

"We want to make it even easier for people to find creators and influencers on Twitter, so it makes sense for us to let people apply for verification," Tina Bhatnagar, Twitter's vice president of User Services, said in a press release. "We hope opening up this application process results in more people finding great, high-quality accounts to follow, and for these creators and influencers to connect with a broader audience."

So what, exactly, do you need to get verified? Here's how to increase your chances of obtaining that blue tick, according to the official Twitter guidelines.

1. Fully Complete Your Profile

According to the Twitter support page about verification, your application cannot be missing any of the following info to be considered: Bio, profile photo, verified phone number, confirmed email address, website, header photo and birthday info. The only accounts that can get away with not providing a birthday are accounts belonging to companies, brands, or organizations; if the account belongs to a single person, the birthday is a must.

2. Make Sure Your Tweets Are Set To Public

3. Get Your Branding Down

The Twitter support page recommends adopting some common characteristics of other verified accounts — and generally, those kinds of accounts are all about signifying a strong personal or corporate brand. If the account belongs to a person or company, the handle or username should reflect the real or stage name of the person or company. Same goes with the header and profile pic; it needs to reflect the personal or company brand. Oh, and if the account is a corporate account, the email address associated with the account should also be corporate.

4. Sell Yourself

The final part of the application is where you need to persuade Twitter as to why you feel your account should receive the little blue badge of honor. If you're writing to them on behalf of yourself, include evidence (in the form of URL links) to show your "relevancy" and the impact you've had on your field. If you're a company, Twitter asks that you inform them of your "mission" and provide similar links. They may also request that you upload a "legible copy of your government-issued ID (such as a passport or driver’s license) to confirm your identity," which sounds very official.

And that's it, people: Your path to elevated social media status is waiting for you, should you meet these simple requirements. The verification application form is available to fill out on the Twitter support page; all applications will receive responses via email. It's unknown if the company will give you personal feedback on your application, though, so it's possible if you're refused, you may never know why. But in a somewhat altruistic move (or cruel, depending on how you look at things), if your request does happen to be denied, you can submit another one for the same account 30 days later. So if at first you don't succeed, perhaps persistence will help — or drive you to the point of despair. Who knows.